New U.S. Okinawa unit to counter 'China aggression': Marine chief

WASHINGTON -- Gen. Eric Smith, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, told Nikkei on Friday that a new unit established in November on the Japanese island of Okinawa is designed to "counter PRC [the People's Republic of China] aggression" in order to protect Japan and others in geopolitically sensitive areas.

The U.S. military has reorganized its forces stationed in Japan, creating a new unit called the Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR), which is meant to come to the defense of remote islands quickly in the event of an attack.